The Lingering Garden is one of the
four classical gardens in Suzhou City. In the Jianing reign of the Ming Dynasty
(1368-1644), an official named Xu Jiongqing from the Taipu Temple built two
gardens here: one in the east and the other in the west. The one in the east is
the predecessor of today's Lingering Garden. In the later years of the Qianlong
reign, Liu Shu got the eastern garden. He rebuilt it and changed its name to
"Hanbi Mountain Villa". Because the owner Liu Shu was quite fond of stones and
his surname was Liu, the garden was called the Liu's Garden accordingly. In the
12th year (1886) of the Guangxu reign, the garden became in the
possession of a wealthy comprador Sheng Xuren, and changed its name to the
Lingering Garden. After Suzhou City was recovered in the 1911 Revolution, the
Lingering Garden and other possessions of Sheng Xuren were confiscated by the
revolutionary army. The Lingering Garden experienced several damages in the
following years, and became a big staple for Japanese during the War of
Resistance against Japan. After new China was founded, Suzhou municipal
government set aside a sum of money to repair the Lingering Garden. Since then,
the Lingering Garden has taken a new look.

Covering an area of 23,310 square meters,
today the garden is separated into the eastern, central, northern and western
parts.

The central part, which has the longest
history and is the essence of the Lingering Garden, is the original location of
former Hanbi Mountain Villa, which was centered by the Guangchi Pond, with
rockeries to its west and north part and buildings to its south. A small Penglai
Islet stands in the pond, connecting with the banks by a winding bridge. Those
stone steps around the pond are mainly built of yellow stones. Rockeries in the
west are covered with green trees. Via the corridor, you can climb to a pavilion
on the top of the rockeries. Looking down, you can see all the sceneries: east
and south to the pond, Hanbi House, the Mingse Building, the L¨¹yin Veranda, the Quxi Building
and other buildings standing around the pond. Big or small, far or near, high or
low, these buildings are changeable with suitable and distinct gradation,
showing the ingenuity of the builders.

The grand and luxurious the Wufengxian Hall
to the east of the Quxi Building is the biggest hall in all the gardens in
Suzhou City. It is nicely decorated. In the south part of the Xietiao Hall is
the largest rockery of all the classical gardens in Suzhou City. The Jifeng
Building and several neighboring yards are in the east part. The central part of
the Lingering Garden is surrounded by verdant rockeries and pavilions with
corridor as well as and bridges, flowers and trees blooming in four seasons. As
meaningful as a poem and as beautiful as a picture, this part presents the main
scenic spot of the Lingering Garden.

Walk eastward from the Jifeng Building, you
will get to the eastern scenic spot of the Lingering Garden. Here is for
buildings. Different forms of buildings with corridor here and there show the
elegance, serenity, and glory. The Wufengxian Hall and the Linquan Maoshi Hall
are the two major scenic spots of the east part.

The Wufengxian Hall, as the largest hall
throughout China, is also called Nanmu Hall because of the Nanmu used for its
beams. It is 5-bay wide and built of hard rocks. Furnishings inside are elegant.
Five rockeries that stand in the front of the hall are the biggest of all the
rockeries-in-lake in Suzhou City. A small and novel yard is behind the hall with
rockeries, ponds and corridors in it.

The
Linquan Maoshi Hall is 5-bay wide with single-eaved gable and hip roof. It
includes two rooms: the south room called Qishishou Taigu Veranda and the north
room called Linquan Maoshi Hall. A round ridge roof caps the inner hall. The
beams in the south room are round, simple and elegant; while those in the north
room are flat and richly ornamented. Accordingly, these two rooms are
collectively called as the Yuanyang (mandarin duck) Hall. The whole building is
marvelous and glorious so that it is regarded as the masterpiece of the
classical buildings in China. The hall faces northward three famous rockeries of
the Lingering Garden: the Guanyun Hill stands in the middle, and the Ruiyun Hill
and the Youyun Hill stand on its sides. The Guanyun Hill is 5-zhang (1 zhang =
3.33m) high, featuring wrinkles, thinness,
transparence and holiness. It can be described as crystal-clear. As the highest
rockery-in-lake of all the gardens in Suzhou City, the Guanyun Hill is said to
be relics from a historical site in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), or relics of
the East Garden of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Below the three hills,
rockeries scatter here and there with blooming flowers and grass. Around the
three hills are the Huanyun Pond, the Guanyun Pavilion, the Guanyun Building,
the Guanyun Platform, the Shangyun Hut and so on. These buildings are all
magnificent and elegant.

The pavilion of Good sunshine, nice rainfall
and fast snow is next to the Guanyun Hill. Here is the beginning of the south
part that takes on idyllic scenery. Corridors, bamboos, straw sheds, peach and
apricot blossoms, beanstalks and pumpkin vines, bridges and waters altogether
create the sense of the Land of Peach Blossoms.

The west part is known for the interesting
rockeries that are integrated into the natural scenery. Stones on them alternate
with the earth; maple trees have grown into a forest. On the left, walls are
weaving; to the north, a peach yard is also called small peach dock; in front, a
brook is winding away. From the top of the rockeries, the Huqiu Hill, the
Tianping Hill, the Shangfang Hill as well as landscapes in the west yard can be
seen clearly.

The four scenic spots of the Lingering
Garden are of different features. They set off each other with certain
connection, but distinguish from each other at the same time. Though empty
buildings alternate with solid ones, and the scenery seems complicated, they
share a distinct gradation. When viewed in ichnographic angle, they are rich in
changes; when viewed in dimensional angle, they are natural and have many
appearances. The corridor connecting all the scenic spots is 700 meters long in
total, winding with the topography and making the scenery endless and
changeable. It is really a masterpiece of gardens in
China.

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